National Pension Service increased its position in Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 8.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 199,204 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 15,982 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $41,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 2.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,418,797 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,417,537,000 after buying an additional 923,572 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 12.0% in the second quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 20,623,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,473,320,000 after buying an additional 2,211,682 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 13.4% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,977,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,947,153,000 after buying an additional 1,059,026 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 7.8% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,296,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,799,587,000 after buying an additional 600,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Fund Advisors increased its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Fund Advisors now owns 7,325,789 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,588,964,000 after buying an additional 166,178 shares in the last quarter. 97.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG) traded up 1.28% on Tuesday, hitting $183.65. The company had a trading volume of 115,905 shares. Simon Property Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $174.91 and a 12-month high of $229.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $187.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.04. The stock has a market cap of $57.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28 and a beta of 0.65.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.02. The company earned $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 36.22% and a net margin of 35.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Simon Property Group Inc. will post $10.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 16th will be issued a $1.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 14th. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is currently 112.25%.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. RBC Capital Markets reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $216.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Simon Property Group from $230.00 to $216.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 1st. Jefferies Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Sunday, October 23rd. Canaccord Genuity reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Friday, September 16th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Simon Property Group in a research report on Thursday, August 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $266.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $236.24.

In other news, SVP Steven K. Broadwater sold 945 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.41, for a total value of $203,562.45. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,965 shares in the company, valued at $638,690.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company owns, develops and manages retail real estate properties, which consist primarily of malls, Premium Outlets and The Mills. Simon Property Group, L.P. (Operating Partnership), is the Company’s partnership subsidiary that owns all of its real estate properties and other assets.